Level Up Machine

Chapter 55 Traitors (7)

“……Ha.”

Even in this urgent situation, Yoo Jin couldn’t help but laugh dryly. Watching a human arm spinning and flying towards him was beyond his comprehension.

Thud!

“Growl!”

Jung Yong-chan’s body was hurled sideways as the wildly spinning arm struck him squarely in the side.

Jung Yong-chan fell to the ground, and shortly after, a young man descended from the sky. It was Yeong-sik, who had flown through the air using a boost.

Click.

Yeong-sik picked up his right arm, which was lying on the ground, and turned to Yoo Jin.

“Are you alright?”

Yoo Jin nodded with his mouth tightly shut. He then turned his gaze to Jung Yong-chan, who was sprawled on the ground.

“Ugh, aaah…”

Jung Yong-chan writhed on the ground, swallowing painful groans. It wasn’t because Yeong-sik’s attack had been fatal. No matter how close to level 90 Yeong-sik might be in stats, he couldn’t have taken down Jung Yong-chan, who had used ‘Blood Moon,’ with just one attack.

The reddish aura that had been boiling around Jung Yong-chan’s body began to dissipate.

The duration of ‘Blood Moon’ had ended.

As a buff that induced a momentary explosive increase in stats, its side effects were also tremendous. Jung Yong-chan screamed in agony as his entire body twisted in pain.

“……It seems the situation is roughly over.”

Yeong-sik muttered as he looked down at the battlefield, which was slowly coming to an end in less than 30 minutes since the fight started.

The remaining executives of the Judas Guild, who had been holding their ground against the Salvator Guild members, began surrendering one by one after seeing Jung Yong-chan fall. With the guild leader and the executives surrendering, there was no way the regular guild members would risk their lives to continue fighting.

The Judas Guild members, mentally exhausted from the fear of the mines, dropped their weapons and raised their hands without exception.

“It’s over, Guild Leader.”

“Yes…”

Yoo Jin, who was guarding Tiria, spoke to her in a firm voice. Tiria looked at her guild members, who were waiting for her instructions with grim expressions.

“Gather all those who have surrendered in one place.”

At her words, the guild members promptly began to bind the surrendering Judas Guild members.

They were dragged to one spot with terrified faces. There were a total of 15 surviving Judas Guild members.

“G-Guild Leader! Please spare our lives!”

“We had no choice but to leave the guild because of Jung Yong-chan’s threats!”

The summoners, bound in restraining chains, began to plead desperately. Infuriated by their shamelessness, Choi Yu-na tried to step forward but was stopped by Park Cheol-tae.

Tiria looked down at them with her mouth tightly closed. She bit her lip with a distressed expression.

The Judas Guild members who had been captured as prisoners were all summoners who had once been part of the Salvator Guild. Tears welled up in Tiria’s eyes as she looked down at them.

“Why……”

A strained voice escaped her lips. The word “why” lingered in her mouth.

She knew why they had betrayed the Salvator Guild. Their extreme conclusion of betrayal wasn’t solely due to the machinations of the Elnote Kingdom.

‘It’s all my fault.’

Tiria bowed her head with a sorrowful expression.

Yes, the reason they had betrayed her.

It was because she had wavered, unable to make any decision.

Choosing between her family and her guild members was an incredibly harsh decision, but that was no excuse.

She was the leader responsible for the guild. A leader must not waver under any circumstances. The moment a leader wavered, everyone they led would waver as well.

But in the end, she had wavered between the two choices and fell into confusion, unable to do anything.

In such a situation, expecting them to stay with her without turning their backs was nothing but folly.

‘But……

Tiria clenched her fist tightly.

“We all laughed together. We lived happily together.”

Anger flickered in Tiria’s eyes. Considering her usual personality, this was quite surprising.

“How, how could you do that……?”

She murmured in a voice so faint it seemed it could break at any moment. The earnestness in her voice made the expressions of the Judas Guild members harden.

Jung Yong-chan, who had barely recovered from the aftereffects of the Blood Moon, grimaced harshly and shouted.

“That’s because you acted like a fool! Even with a powerful force like Salvator, you let the kingdom manipulate you like an idiot! You even lost the Grace of the Archangel, losing your power! Why the hell should we follow such a fool?! Huh?!”

Jung Yong-chan screamed at Tiria, his words cutting through her heart like sharp knives. Tears began to form in Tiria’s eyes.

“You bastard!”

Enraged by Jung Yong-chan’s outburst, Choi Yu-na drew her dual swords and charged at him. This time, Park Cheol-tae did not stop her.

Thud.

“Ugh?!”

But before Choi Yu-na could reach Jung Yong-chan, someone else kicked him in the face first.

“Yeong-sik……?”

The person who kicked Jung Yong-chan was none other than Yeong-sik.

Choi Yu-na looked at him, unable to believe that Yeong-sik, who had not even experienced the internal strife of Salvator, would step forward before her.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Ugh! Gah! Who, who are you, you ba—ugh!”

Yeong-sik, who had kicked Jung Yong-chan in the head, continued to stomp on his face as he lay on the ground.

As his werewolf transformation receded, Jung Yong-chan’s face was torn roughly, and dark red blood flowed out.

“W-wait a moment, Yeong-sik!”

Even Tiria, surprised by Yeong-sik’s sudden intervention, reached out toward him.

Thud!

“Ugh…”

Yeong-sik kicked Jung Yong-chan’s jaw with all his might, as if kicking a ball. Jung Yong-chan’s eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness.

The other Salvator Guild members watched Yeong-sik’s actions with intrigued expressions.

“To be honest, there’s something I’ve wanted to say ever since I first heard about the situation of the Salvator Guild.”

Yeong-sik turned to Tiria with a nonchalant expression, as if nothing had happened.

“W-what is it?”

Tiria looked at him with a flustered expression. Her eyes met Yeong-sik’s, whose gaze was deeply intense.

Thump.

Feeling the direct impact of his gaze, Tiria experienced a heavy shock resonating within her chest. An overwhelming presence emanated from Yeong-sik, one that couldn’t be compared to her own.

It was a majestic aura, akin to that of an emperor ruling over a vast empire.

“If things continue as they are, all the remaining Salvator Guild members will end up dead,” he said in a calm tone.

Tiria pressed her lips together firmly.

“Creating a family-like atmosphere is good. I was also reassured by how warmly you welcomed me as a newcomer.”

But.

Yeong-sik continued in a low voice.

“Simply being a good person isn’t enough to be a leader.”

“I… know that,” Tiria responded, her head bowed.

Yeong-sik placed his foot on Jung Yong-chan’s head as he continued speaking.

“I understand Jung Yong-chan’s betrayal. If I had seen a leader unable to make decisions and wavering, I might have considered betrayal too.”

Tiria couldn’t find words to respond to Yeong-sik’s candid mention of betrayal. The shocking nature of his words stirred unease among the other Salvator Guild members.

“The calamity that befell the Salvator Guild was indeed brutal. However, if you had made quick decisions, the situation wouldn’t have escalated to this extent.”

“What?”

“It was a disaster that could have been avoided and prevented.”

Yeong-sik spoke while looking at Tiria, who had her head bowed.

In a tone that listed obvious facts, he continued.

“You are the one who brought it to this disastrous state.”

“Ah…”

Tiria trembled at his eerily calm voice. The sharp fragments of his words pierced her heart far more painfully than Jung Yong-chan’s earlier outburst.

She realized just how much his words ‘hurt.’

“You! What do you think you’re saying to my sister? What do you know? You don’t know how desperately she agonized and suffered back then!”

Yu-na shouted, grabbing Yeong-sik by the collar.

“I can say this because I don’t know. No matter how painful or hesitant it was, Tiria had to make a choice.”

“Shut up! You know nothing! Do you think you’re something just because we’ve been listening to you? You…

“Enough!”

Tiria’s outburst interrupted Yu-na. She bit her lip with a trembling expression.

“What should I have done?”

She asked Yeong-sik in a tearful voice.

“Thinking about it now is meaningless. It’s already too late.”

“Then?”

“There is only one choice you need to make now, Tiria.”

Yeong-sik looked down at the 15 captured Judas Guild members.

“Will you kill these people? Or will you spare them and let them go?”

Tiria’s expression hardened at his question.

The decision she had to make immediately was not to lament to the Judas Guild for betraying the Salvator Guild, nor to ask why they did it.

She had to decide whether to kill them here or let them live.

“Whatever choice you make, I will follow you, Tiria. Not just now, but I will continue to live as a member of the Salvator Guild in the future. However…”

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“If you don’t make a choice, I will no longer stay with you.”

A heavy silence fell after his words. In the suffocating atmosphere, Tiria lifted her head.

“I…”

Tiria spoke in a trembling voice, as if wringing out the words.

At that moment.

-Bzzzzz.

A vibration came from the communication crystal in Tiria’s arms. It was a crystal used for the most urgent matters.

Tiria picked up the crystal.

-“Guild Leader, there’s something urgent to report.”

The voice coming from the crystal was Han-seong’s.

“What’s happening…?”

Tiria asked cautiously. Han-seong’s voice continued, stiff and grave.

-“The northern border has fallen.”